Red Waters
by SageOrijima
Summary: All of the paladins are just having a good day at the lake when tragedy strikes. Nobody sees it coming until it's there.


Lance jumped to the next rock, a grin brighter than the sun plastered on his face. Pidge screeched and shot Lance off the rock and into the water. Hunk popped up beside Lance and raised his water gun up to his shoulder, aiming at Pidge. "Keith, back up!"

"Wait, wait, I don't have a water gun, don't attack me!" Lance hollered with both his hands raised in the air, surrendering to the others. Pidge and Hunk smirked before turning on their friend, shooting streams of water at his face. They laughed infectiously while they played in the water.

Shiro, Allura, and Coran sat on the beachside, watching the Paladins as they played in the water. Coran and Allura had found a planet like Earth that has breathable air, lush greenery, and flowing water. Once the Alteans brought it up, there was a unanimous vote to take a break and visit the planet.

* * *

Lance huffed as he threw himself down onto the sand next to Coran. "Are you having fun, my boy?" Lance laughed a little and sat up, leaning his chin against his knee.

"It's amazing, Coran, just like a lake I used to go to near my house." A strong feeling of nostalgia ran through Lance's veins and he tilted his head, glancing at Coran. The Altean directed a warm smile at Lance, one that immediately reminded him of his father.

"I'm happy, it looks like everyone seems to be enjoying themselves." Coran watched the scene in front of him. Pidge was on Hunk's shoulders and kept trying to shoot Keith, who kept ducking under the water whenever he saw the incoming shots. "Why don't you join them?"

Lance shook his head, lightly biting his bottom lip, "Nah, I just wanna relax a bit." Lance seemed to think for a second and added, "It wouldn't be the same without my siblings either."

Coran hummed sympathetically and patted Lance on the shoulder, "I understand you must miss your family, but we're also your family. Go out there and have fun while you can, kiddo." Coran grabbed Lance and tossed him into the water, effectively splashing everyone around them.

"Lance, is the water cold?" Shiro pushed his sunglasses up to hold his fluff back, a loose grin on his face. Lance shook his head like a dog and shuddered, Shiro laughed, "I'm gonna guess that mean it's pretty cold."

"No, no," Lance's voice was laden with sarcasm, "I've never felt water this warm before." Lance stuck his tongue out and began to float on his back away from the others. He hummed and stretched his arms out to either side of him, just basking in the feeling of the water surrounding him.

"Lance, behind you!"

Startled, Lance began to stand up, but before he could the water disappeared from under him. He found himself raised above Shiro's head before he was sent yelling a few feet away. "You scared the crap out of me, Shiro!"

Shiro only responded with a shrug and a guilty smile. "Shiro, you should do that to Pidge next!" Keith called from the top of a cliff that was across from the sandy beach Coran and Allura sat on.

A grin crossed Shiro's features and he began to swim over to Pidge, who immediately started swimming in the opposite direction. "Don't you dare, Shiro, I'll never forgive you!" In a matter of moments Pidge was raised above Shiro's head and was sent flying into the water below.

"Keith, I dare you to jump down!" Hunk called up to Keith, motioning for the Red Paladin to come join them down in the water.

Keith disappeared from the ledge before reappearing and jumping off it, soaring through the sky for a good few seconds. He hit the water with a splash and resurfaced, laughing his head off. "I bet you can't do that, Lance," Keith sneered, Hunk and Pidge also started to encourage Lance to jump.

"Actually, Lance, that would be very interesting to see," Allura said as she began to wade into the water.

Lance huffed and shrugged, "Fine, fine, but then Pidge and Hunk have to do it!" They agreed and Lance swam over to the rope ladder they had hung on the cliff. It only took him a minute or so to climb up onto the top of the cliff and only then did he realize how high up the cliff was.

He inhaled sharply and took a few steps back before jogging towards the edge. However, Lance misjudged the distance between him and the drop. His foot slipped over the edge and he felt his brain rattle around in his skull as the back of his head connected with the rocks.

Spots danced around on his vision as he fell towards the water, everything seemed to be going in slow motion. He heard the cheering coming from Hunk, Pidge, and Keith as he hit the water's surface. Everything felt numb as he drifted farther down into the water.

The water around him was turning red.

He heard muffled yells as he sank even further into the water, alarmed ones. Lance closed his eyes and chased the white spots that kept flickering across his vision. Without realizing it, Lance parted his lips, allowing water to rush into his open mouth. The air inside his lungs escaped and ascended to the surface of the lake.

* * *

My eyes slid closed again and when I opened them, I was laying on the sand face-up. "Hey, hey, did someone die or something?" I quipped as I glanced around at the others.

"You idiot! This isn't time to be cracking jokes!" Hunk fussed at me with tears in his worried eyes. Pidge was clutching at Hunk's arm with tears in their eyes as well, hell, even Allura had watery eyes.

"Lance, my boy, look at me," Coran lightly gripped my chin and made me look him in the eye. It was only then did I realize that everything was blurry and there was a sharp, aching pain in the back of my head. "His eyes are extremely dilated, that's not a good sign."

I laughed and gave the team a thumbs up, "Everythin's jus fine, guys, I'm feelin' great!" I laughed again when I heard how funny I sounded, I sounded just like my uncle after a night of drinking. My mouth was dry, Allura noticed my discomfort and raised a glass to my lips, I greedily drank the water.

Keith stood behind Hunk and Pidge with his arms crossed, looking worried. Shiro sat at one of my sides, couldn't tell left from right at the moment. "Coran, the back of his head is busted open, we need to get him into a cryopod."

I reached out for Shiro, who leaned down to my level, and ruffled his fluff. "Shiro, my dude, you hair," I giggled, "it's so soft!" Shiro's face screwed up into an even more concerned look and I dropped my hand, feeling as if I did something wrong.

Tears welled up in my eyes and I begged for them to not flow down my cheeks. They didn't listen to me. One by one, tears rolled down my cheeks to fall onto the sand, "Lance, what's wrong?"

All I could do was shrug, unsure of why I was crying. There wasn't even a reason to be. Shiro scooped me up in his arms and carried me to the Black Lion, "I'm gonna take him to the castle, Coran come with me, you all stay and try to have more fun."

"I," Bile rose up in my throat and I swallowed it down, "agree, y'all stay here, have fun."

Black spots bombarded my vision until it went completely black again.


End file.
